This valedictory speech for the ANU's National Security College outlines the interaction between academia and public policy in Australia, which has been an evolving mix of reticence and engagement, shared purposes and distinctive roles. Introduction I would like to take the opportunity this evening to put the story of the establishment and development of the...

A Federation for the 21st Century examines:

This report reviews the activities the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security undertook during the past year to monitor Australia's six intelligence agencies. Highlights The ongoing challenge for the office is to adapt to changes in the operations and powers of the intelligence agencies while maintaining effectiveness, credibility and transparency in our oversight role. We have...

This guide offers advice to public sector senior leaders on the successful implementation of policies so that unintended consequences, which deny the community the full benefits of a new policy or waste public resources, can be avoided. Foreword All Governments expect their policies to be implemented on time, on budget and to expectations. For that...

Are Australia's ministerial arrangements for managing domestic security optimal? This paper examines this question as a debate. Overview The recent increase in Australia’s terrorism alert, reported prime ministerial concern over national security arrangements, major increases in counterterrorism funding and operational success against people smuggling have raised a new question in Canberra: are our arrangements for...